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H Embargoed Until Monday, September 25, 12:01 a.m. EST United States HUMAN Custody and Control RIGHTS Conditions of Confinement in New York’s WATCH Juvenile Prisons for Girls “I been restrained two times during my stay here and they do it to hurt you. ... [T]hey had messed up my face real bad... busted my lip...I just thinkthey shouldn’t touch us ‘cause us kids get hurt real bad.” Human Rights Watch September 2006 American Civil Liberties Union Custody and Control Conditions of Confinement in New York’s Juvenile Prisons for Girls Glossary .........................................................................................................................................................1 Summary........................................................................................................................................................3 Recommendations........................................................................................................................................8 To the Governor of New York and the Commissioner of the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) ..........................................................................................................................9 To the New York State Legislature.................................................................................................... 13 To the New York Courts..................................................................................................................... 14 To Family Court Prosecutors, Mental Health Services Officers, and Probation Officers ........ 14 To the New York State Office of Mental Health ............................................................................ 14 To the New York State Department of Education ......................................................................... 15 To the New York State Civil Service Employees Association and Public Employees Federation, the unions representing OCFS facilities staff.............................................................. 15 To United States Officials.................................................................................................................... 15 To the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women .................................. 16 Methods ...................................................................................................................................................... 17 I. The Rights of Incarcerated Girls under International Law............................................................. 20 II. Girls in the New York Juvenile Justice System...............................................................................26 Girls’ Delinquency: Systemic Failures and Pathways to Incarceration......................................... 26 The Social Welfare System .............................................................................................................. 26 Schools ............................................................................................................................................... 31 Juvenile Justice Processing and the Incarceration of Girls............................................................. 33 Developments in the Policing of Girls.......................................................................................... 33 The Incarceration of Girls............................................................................................................... 40 The Disproportionate Impact on Girls of Color......................................................................... 42 III. Conditions of Confinement: Abusive Treatment.......................................................................... 44 Excessive Use of Physical “Restraints” ............................................................................................. 45 Staff Shortages as a Contributing Factor to Excessive Force.................................................... 54 Excessive Security Measures ............................................................................................................... 56 Secure Conditions within Tryon’s “Non-Secure” Facility.......................................................... 57 Strip Searches .................................................................................................................................... 58 Handcuffing and Shackling of Girls ..............................................................................................61 Sexual Abuse.......................................................................................................................................... 63 Collective Punishment.......................................................................................................................... 71 Verbal and Psychological Abuse......................................................................................................... 72 Violations of Privacy ............................................................................................................................ 73 Discrimination....................................................................................................................................... 75 Discrimination and Harassment Against Lesbian and Gender Nonconforming Girls ......... 75 Racial Discrimination....................................................................................................................... 77 IV. Conditions of Confinement: Inadequate Educational Opportunities........................................ 80 Schooling................................................................................................................................................ 80 Vocational Training .............................................................................................................................. 86 V. Conditions of Confinement: Mental Health.................................................................................... 89 General Health Concerns .................................................................................................................. 103 VI. Conditions of Confinement: Isolation and Related Issues ........................................................ 105 Isolated Confinement......................................................................................................................... 105 Idleness................................................................................................................................................. 108 Limitations on Contact with the Outside World ........................................................................... 108 Lack of Attorney Access upon Incarceration............................................................................. 109 Family Visits .................................................................................................................................... 110 Telephone Calls and Mail .............................................................................................................. 112 Library and Media Access.............................................................................................................. 116 VII. Reentry and the Effects of Incarceration.................................................................................... 117 VIII. Lack of Accountability, Oversight, and Transparency in OCFS ........................................... 121 Grievance Procedures and Staff Accountability............................................................................. 121 Absence of Internal Oversight.......................................................................................................... 124 Inadequacy of External Governmental Monitoring ...................................................................... 127 Barriers to Monitoring by Civil Society ........................................................................................... 128 Appendix: Facilities Investigated .......................................................................................................... 131 Tryon..................................................................................................................................................... 131 Lansing.................................................................................................................................................. 132 Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................. 134 Glossary adjudication A guilty finding for juvenile delinquents; the equivalent to a “conviction” for an adult accused of a crime. aftercare Programs and services mandated by OCFS for a child released from OCFS custody; the equivalent of “parole” in the adult criminal system. commitment facility An institution in which children may be held after they are found to have committed a criminal act; the equivalent to a “prison” in the adult correctional system. detention facility An institution in which children may be held while delinquency proceedings are underway; the equivalent to a “jail” in the adult correctional system. disposition The equivalent of “sentencing” in the adult criminal system. juvenile delinquent A child between the ages of seven and fifteen who is found to have committed an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult; delinquency